Identification of pions and electrons in a hadron calorimeter

The possibility of separating hadrons and electrons in a hadron sampling calorimeter by the shape of the transverse energy release distribution was studied. The profile width and its shape as functions of the position of the shower axis in the cell and of the particle type and energy are analyzed. Selection by shower width reduced the electron detection efficiency to {approximately}10{sup -2} at a 90% detection efficiency of {pi}{sup -}-mesons. A similar separation is achieved in the detection of electrons with the rejection of hadrons.